2010 Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Les Goulots Vieilles Vignes 1er Cru

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Goulots is at first quite cool and implosive, but then opens up nicely in the glass. It is a Gevrey built on length, salinity and intense minerality with less of the overtness of the Cherbaudes. There is an element of mystery to the Goulots that is highly attractive.

The 2010 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Goulots is at first quite cool and implosive, but then opens up nicely in the glass. It is a Gevrey built on length, salinity and intense minerality with less of the overtness of the Cherbaudes. There is an element of mystery to the Goulots that is highly attractive. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2030. The biggest news at Domaine Fourrier is Jean-Marie Fourrier’s decision to launch a small negociant operation to augment his estate wines. Readers can look forward to new bottlings from the 1er Cru Aux Exchanges in Chambolle-Musigny and two new Grand Cru wines from Clos de Vougeot and Echezeaux, all of which will debut with the 2011 vintage. As for 2010, Fourrier told me he is down 40% across the board in terms of yields. The cold weather during the flowering produced 100% millerandage (shot berries), which Fourrier described as pea-sized grapes. While that is not good for quantity, it has certainly turned out great for quality. Readers who want to learn more about Fourrier’s thoughts on the vintage and approach to vinification might want to check out my video interview on www.erobertparker.com. As a quick note, none of the 2010s had been racked at the time of my visit in early December 2011. I have kept scores a bit wider than normal in the few cases where the wines were a touch reduced. Importer: Rosenthal Wine Merchant, Pine Plains, NY; tel. (800) 910-1990

Good bright red. Somewhat reduced aromas of musky raspberry, black cherry and game. Then quite closed in the middle palate, showing more game, smoky minerality and saline soil tones than primary fruit today. Can't match the Cherbaudes for sheer eclat today but this wine boasts a wonderfully suave, fine-grained texture, noble tannins and terrific mineral-driven length. From a cool, windy, eroded vineyard in a gully that features clay over rock, with little in the way of topsoil.